Re: News: Breast cancer gene-free baby due.

On Dec 20, 5:53 pm, Ye Old One <use...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Breast cancer gene-free baby due

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7792318.stm

A woman from London will give birth next week to the first British
baby screened to be free of an altered gene which causes breast
cancer.

Women in three generations of her husband's family have been diagnosed
with the disease in their 20s.

Without the embryo screening, any daughter born would have a 50-80%
chance of experiencing breast cancer.

But one expert warned the technique would not be suitable for all
couples with this disease in their family.

Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) involves taking a cell from
an embryo at the eight-cell stage of development, when it is around
three-days old, and testing it.

Using PGD to ensure a baby does not carry an altered gene which would
guarantee a baby would inherit a disease such as cystic fibrosis, is
well-established.

But in 2006, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority said
doctors could test for so-called susceptibility genes, such as BRCA1.

Carrying the BRCA1 mutation in this family's case would have given up
to an 80% chance of developing breast cancer later in life.

BRCA1 and a related altered gene, BRCA2, account for around 5% of
breast cancers.

Many women who discover they have inherited one of the gene mutations
choose to have a double mastectomy to remove their breasts.

'A new era'

In this case, the 27-year-old woman and her husband, who are being
treated by fertility expert Paul Serhal at University College Hospital
London, do not yet know if they are having a girl or a boy.

The couple, who wish to remain anonymous, want to eradicate the gene
flaw from their family. The husband's grandmother, mother, sister and
a cousin have been diagnosed with the disease.

While a daughter could have been affected by breast cancer herself if
she carried the altered gene, a son could have been a carrier and
passed it on to any daughters.

Mr Serhal said: "The whole objective of this exercise is not just to
make sure the child doesn't have the gene, but to stop the
transmission from generation to generation."

He said it was "an exciting new era," adding that it would be possible
to screen for any mutated gene which had been linked to a specific
cancer.

But he said that, in this case, not carrying an altered BRCA1 gene
would not guarantee any daughter born to the couple would be
unaffected by breast cancer because there are other genetic and
environmental causes.

Dr Alan Thornhill, scientific director of the London Bridge Fertility,
Gynaecology and Genetics Centre, said: "While the technology and
approach used in this case is fairly routine, it is the first time in
the UK that a family has successfully eliminated a mutant breast
cancer gene for their child.

"It is a victory for both the parents and the HFEA that licensed this
treatment.

'Not a cure'

But Professor Peter Braude, director of the Centre for PGD at Guy's
Hospital in London, said: "The decision as to whether PGD is
appropriate for a couple will be made after a thorough discussion with
knowledgeable genetic counsellors and clinical geneticists.

"It will not be suitable for everyone who has experience of breast
cancer in their family, nor where the chances of the IVF needed for
PGD has a low chance of succeeding."

Dr Lesley Walker, of Cancer Research UK, said: "This is an exciting
step forward in preventing this inherited form of breast cancer but
very few people have sufficiently high risk genes to warrant this sort
of intervention."

Josephine Quintavalle, of the campaign group Comment on Reproductive
Ethics said: "The most important thing is that people realise this is
not a cure for breast cancer.

"In addition, we must not forget the embryos which were discarded
because they did carry the gene.

"Moving to screening embryos for susceptibility genes, rather than
inherited conditions, has broken through a barrier.

"What next? It is going further along the line which ultimately ends
in designer babies."

--
Bob.

I guess I have to be the one to bring up[ Heinlein's "Beyond This
Horizon".

http://tinyurl.com/8ubkgb

Kermit

.

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